Lisbon, Feb. 18, 2025 (Lusa) - The Rock in Rio Lisboa music festival will return to Lisbon's Parque Tejo, on the north-eastern edge of the city, on 20, 21, 27 and 28 June 2026 for what will be the 11th edition, with improvements to the venue and reinforced access, organisers announced on Tuesday.
For the next festival, the "city of rock" will once again be built in Parque Tejo, where Rock in Rio Lisboa was for the first time held last year, "with improvements planned in various areas" according to organisers, in announcements made at a news conference in Lisbon. This saw the release of the results of a study assessing the festival's economic impact, said to be worth €120 million.
The move from Parque da Bela Vista - where the festival had previously been held - to Parque Tejo prompted a number of criticisms from members of the public, particularly in relation to venue access, a lack of shade and long queues to access food stalls and toilets.
According to the organisers, in 2026 the area for the public will be 145,000 square metres, 15,000 square metres more than last year, "guaranteeing more circulation space and greater comfort for everyone" and allowing for the expansion of all the stages.
There will also be a 40% increase in the number of toilets and a 30% increase in catering area, as well as new rest areas.
The organisation also announced that transport options "will also be reinforced, with an improved transport plan, more options and new partners to facilitate access to the venue."
The 10th edition of Rock in Rio Lisboa, which took place in June last year, drew 300,000 spectators over four days, joined by around 14,000 accredited staff and journalists.
The line-up for the 10th edition included bands and artists such as Scorpions, Macklemore, Ed Sheeran, Doja Cat, Jonas Borthers, Camila Cabello, Lucas Graham, Ne-Yo, Ivete Sangalo, MC Cabelinho, Luísa Sonza, Ornatos Violeta and Fernando Daniel, among many others.
According to a study carried out by the Nova SBE business school, the 10th festival generated €120 million in terms of its direct impact on the nation's economy.
One of the study's coordinators, João B. Duarte, explained to Lusa that in order to arrive at this figure, two sets of activities related to the organisation of the festival were taken into account: the festival's production costs, with stage set-ups and marketing, for example, and the public's costs, with accommodation, catering and travel.
That is €120 million going to companies based in Portugal or to people who are in Portugal, Duarte explained, adding: "We've taken out the production costs with international artists, only including domestic artists, for example."
The impact is of three types: direct (for example, a meal in a restaurant), indirect (products bought by a restaurant to make the meal) and induced (the income generated by the increase in employment, which is partly recycled in the economy as consumption), he explained.
In order to carry out the study, the Nova SBE team relied on the collaboration of the festival's organisers, who provided the profit and loss account for the year, "which was very detailed about all the expenses made and to whom," according to Duarte, and a survey of the public in 2024, which received 1,009 responses.
According to the organisation, 60% of those attending the 2024 edition were from outside Greater Lisbon.
The information gathered was then linked "to all the other sectors of the economy, using an input-output matrix from the INE" - the National Statistics Institute - from which the direct, indirect and induced effects were calculated.
Employment generated by a music festival is very concentrated in one part of the year, although there are people who dedicate themselves to it all year round.
The study also states that Rock in Rio Lisboa generated 2,204 jobs.
"What we did was try to realise how many jobs Rock in Rio Lisboa could sustain, equivalent to full-time jobs," said João B. Duarte.
This means, he said, that "in terms of remuneration, Rock in Rio Lisboa would be able to sustain 2,204 full-time jobs" in 2024.
JRS/ARO // ARO.
Lusa
